RCD Securing Safe Water On Site in Lowndes, Alabama
The Rural Community Development (RCD) program provides funding, training, and technical assistance to partners like Communities Unlimited, Inc., the southern partner of the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP), to establish clean and efficient water and wastewater systems in rural communities like those found in Lowndes County Alabama. On site visits to the work being done in these communities helps RCD and Communities Unlimited understand the urgency and importance of clean water for all families and individuals.
Providing Safe Water with USET and the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe
Many communities, including the Akwesasne reservation, depend on the St. Lawrence river for water. The United South and Eastern Tribes, Inc. worked in partnership with the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe to address polluted water on the reservation using funds from Rural Community Development (RCD). These funds support a partnership which ensures reliable treatment of water and wastewater for the Akwesasne community.
RCD Spotlight: Restoring Flood Damaged Water Systems in Rural Kentucky
The Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) and Community Action Kentucky used Rural Community Development (RCD) funds to work with community leaders in southeastern Kentucky to restore vital water and wastewater systems in areas affected by historic flooding.
Using GIS Tech for Water and Wastewater Systems Improvements in Corsica, SD
The small town of Corsica, South Dakota needed to update its outdated water and wastewater systems — but was facing some tricky challenges. With the help of a Rural Community Development (RCD) grant, the Midwest Assistance Program (MAP) assisted this rural community in using technology like GIS (geographic information system) to manage their assets and make major system improvements that benefited the entire community.
Building Capacity for Clean Water Assurance in Mora County, NM
Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) used Rural Community Development (RCD) funds to train and build capacity of staff working in the Mora County Water Alliance in New Mexico. Using economies of scale to increase knowledge and streamline practices helped water system staff to meet compliance, receive funding, and ensure safe water for their communities.
OCS On Site: Live-to-Tape Site Visit to Ellendale, Delaware
Over 2 million Americans lack consistent access to water and wastewater systems. Join Lynda Perez, Director of the Division of Community Discretionary and Demonstration Programs (DCDDP) within the Office of Community Services (OCS) on a live-to-tape site visit with Rural Community Development (RCD) grant recipient South East Rural Community Action Partnership (SERCAP) in Ellendale, Delaware. Lynda visits with both residents and water service providers to learn more about the challenges of water delivery in rural, unincorporated areas. Supported by RCD funds, SERCAP is working diligently to ensure that all community members have consistent and reliable access to water and wastewater services.
OCS On Site: Live-to-Tape Site Visit to Lowndes County, Alabama
Over 2 million Americans lack consistent access to water and wastewater systems. Join Dr. Lanikque Howard, Director of the Office of Community Services, on a live-to-tape site visit with Rural Community Development (RCD) grant recipient Communities Unlimited in Lowndes County, Alabama. During her time in Lowndes, Dr. Howard visits homeowners with septic and straight pipe sewage systems in states of disrepair. Without functioning sewage systems, the residents of Lowndes are living with raw sewage in their backyard, which leads to the spread of illness and disease. Supported by RCD funding, Communities Unlimited is working hard to ensure all residents of Lowndes County have strong, functioning sewage systems in their homes.
Increasing Wastewater Treatment Access in Broad Top, Pennsylvania
RCAP Solutions has assisted Broad Top, Pennsylvania with building wastewater treatment facilities and increasing access to clean water for more than 20 years. RCAP Solutions used Rural Community Development (RCD) funds to provide technical assistance to the community, which helped the town win grant competitions and subsequently take on more projects to ensure clean water and safe wastewater services.
Extending Sewer Service to over 30 Households in Magnolia, Mississippi, Population 2,000
With an RCD grant, Communities Unlimited, Inc. supported the City of Magnolia, with leadership by the Mayor, to extend sewer service to the North Street area that the city annexed. About 34 households were connected to the sanitary sewer system with this extension project, which helped with not only environmental health and sanitation but residents’ overall quality of life and value of their properties. Communities Unlimited, Inc. provided technical assistance to low-income communities to achieve outcomes of improving public health, improving financial sustainability, improving environmental health, improving managerial capacity, and achieving compliance with environmental regulations.
Improving New Boston, Ohio’s Ancient Combined Sewer System
Small communities like the Village of New Boston, Ohio, strive to protect the health of the community, but due to circumstances such as small staff or missing expertise may find themselves facing deteriorated sewer systems. Great Lakes Community Action Partnership (GLCAP) assisted the Village with obtaining funding and developing the expertise needed to improve its sewer system. The Rural Community Development Program (RCD) helped the community decrease the inflow of excess water into the sewer system, remove combined sewer overflow violations and work toward EPA compliance, and engage in negotiations to obtain principal forgiveness and low interest loans to manage fines associated with non-compliance.
Technical Assistance Brings Reliable Public Drinking Water to Hobson Village, Virginia
Due to unsafe drinking water with extremely high levels of fluoride, residents of Hobson Village, Virginia, could not rely on their community’s water source. In 2017, with and RCD grant, the Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project (SERCAP) provided the technical assistance needed to help the community understand the options available to them for connecting ot safe water, leverage funding for construction, and guide the community through a large project to finally connect safe water to the Village.
Training Certification for the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) to Ensure the Health of the River
For the Colorado River Indian Tribe (CRIT), located along the Colorado River on the Arizona-Colorado state border, “the health of the people depends on the health of the river.” With RCD funding, the Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona (ITCA) helped CRIT establish a water system on the reservation, supported a regional wastewater system—jointly operated by the CRIT nation and the town of Parker, Arizona—and implemented the tribal operator training and certification program, which uniquely meets the tribe’s need for sustained career development opportunities in the water and wastewater field.